Darkened Halls
by Lady Idyllic
Summary: ON HIATUS I decided to write my own novels so these storie will not be updated any longer as I do not have the spare time to do it. Full time worker and all that. Please accept my sincere appologies to the few readers.
1. The Last Stand

Title: Darkened Halls.

Summary: The ''final'' battle came and went, and as the children of the generation stood over the ruins of their lives, a decision was made that would change them forever. They would not let who they were fade.

Main characters: Harry, Ginny, Weasley twins, Ron, Luna, Hermione, Gabrielle Delacour.

Pairings: FredHermioneGeorge, RonGabrielle.

Warnings: No slash, no graphic sexual content, war situations, VampireFred, VeelaGabrielle, ThunderbirdHarry, WerewolfNeville, all are ageless through a potion accident. Powerful Harry but not god like, yet, wink. Very Ooc, AU, not Hbp compliant.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the places of the Harry Potter world; I simply borrow them and let my twisted muses have fun. I was inspired for some things that will appear later in the story by Miranda Flairgold's fanfictions, 'A second chance at Life' and 'Changes in a time of war'.

This nasty bit on author's notes will not be repeated in other chapters, takes way too much space. Changes will be noted there if and when necessary.

Chapter One: **The Last Stand.**

The battle was done, everything was lost to them, they stood overlooking the battle grounds, all nine of them. The leader stood to the front, his chin length hair flapping in the wind. The wind brought up the scent of death to their noses, their eyes used to what they saw below on the ground. They were perched on one of the still standing towers of the old school, Hogwarts. It was half crumbled to the ground, many halls having been blown apart.

Some made platforms; other towers fell down creating large holes in the castle. The great hall's roof had fallen in, giving the view of the real sky for the first time since its creation. The only tower still remaining somewhat straight and untouched was the astronomy tower, although missing a roof and the walls to its last level. The magic in Hogwarts made it possible for it not to crumble on itself as the magic was self replenishing.

The damage that had been done though would not be repaired by the wards; it needed more magic to do repairs of that scale. It created a small pinch of sadness in their heart, seeing what had been their home for the last ten years reduced to that. In fact, it didn't bother them as much as the many dead littering the ground. They could recognise most of the ones that had been on their side, even children no older than thirteen amongst those who had fought.

It was a pity really, a complete generation lost to a mindless war. Even they, the best of their generation when it came to that war thought it was needless. So much had been lost, but they still had each other. They, the not so golden trio, Luna, Neville, Fred, George and the not so small anymore french part veela, Gabrielle were what was left of a great army, amongst the few survivors. They were standing there, waiting for something. One of two young blond haired women turned to their leader, a black haired muscular young man.

''What do we do now?'' She asked, her trademark dreamy blue eyes looking at their leader, only then adding the proper form of respect as an afterthought. ''Sir.''

Blazing emerald eyes turned to the blond woman, a defined eyebrow rising slightly at her question.

''Protector, Feathers, I want you both looking for possible injured survivors. Loki, Hera and Pyro, find any living death eaters and make sure none can hurt anyone anymore. Athena and Moonlight, register the changes on the map. Forest, find any useable plants and minerals and any salvageable useful goods. I myself will find a satisfactory shelter.'' The black haired man replied.

Three red heads, one female and two, obviously twins, men bowed before sharply turning on their heels, their expressions grim but determined. These were the two Weasley twins and their only sister, Guenièvre. They otherwise were called Loki, Pyro and Hera for all intents and purposes. Another red haired man, this time accompanied by a overly beautiful blond haired woman bowed to their leader before heading to the squeaky staircase behind the trio, the blue eyed woman following closely. Ronald Bilius Weasley and his mate, Gabrielle Delacour, or better known as Protector and Feathers.

The four remaining people each had their tasks, and a mousy brown haired man started looking around the floor they were on, making sure to rescue any salvageable item before going down. A nod to the imposing emerald eyed figure was the only sign he had acquiesced to his leader's request. Methodically, Neville gathered anything useful before heading down the stairs. Two women had sit in one of the 'corners' of the tower, the same dreamy eyed one and an intelligent looking brown haired chocolaty coloured eyed woman. They were discussing over a rather large piece of parchment, wands waving from time to time, and magic rippling in the map set before both.

''Moonlight, Athena, I will leave you to your meddling.'' The black haired man told as first the pale haired woman, then the brown haired one turned to him.

They nodded and returned to their map modifying activities. He chuckled slightly; Luna and Hermione had always been fond of their tinkering.

(Author's note: I know this part about name giving was a tad long, but I wanted to make sure anybody knew who was who. By the way, Harry will be Thanatos.)

Shaking his head, he started down the slightly unstable stair case. He had to find an easily protected place for them to be. Possibly with an easy access to the outside and cover from the elements. He wandered a bit, the destruction around him making it difficult to recognise where everything had been. He guessed he was around Mirtle's lavatories' level. Speaking about the ghost's washrooms, he stumbled onto them quite literally. He was walking down one of the hallways, when suddenly his foot went through the floor.

Thanatos let out a startled cry, falling to the ground, now sprawled on the uneven ground. If someone had been in the room below, he or she would have seen a leg dangling out of the ceiling from mid thigh down. Groaning slightly, he raised his hand and rubbed his forehead where it had stuck the floor when he had fallen. Slowly, he tried to push himself off the wooden ground, the floor seemed to moan under his weight and the black haired warrior lay back down. He didn't really fancy falling in the room under him.

Briefly, he considered yelling if there was any of his team around, but he had a better way to let them know he was in a bit of trouble. Sure, he could use magic, but, for one, he was exhausted, two he was in an area that contain very chaotic magic at the moment and for that reason he wouldn't try placing spells on the ground around him, it would only make matters worse. The only thing he could use right now was a distress beacon; it would send a signal made out of neutral, passive magic that wouldn't interfere with any magic in the surroundings. It would provide his team with his location, and the situation he was currently in.

The only reason that they could do magic at all amongst the crumbled wards and the various magic left by the warriors from both sides was that it was passive. Soon, he felt a wave of passive magic pass him, it was the girls' scan, its role was to memorize the layout of the castle, being as it was it would be needed. Slowly, in the midst of many creaking wooden planks, he tried to reach for the medallion around his neck. It was on a fine looking silver chain, with a small emerald dragon hanging from it. It was a very small thing, unnoticeable to those who weren't looking for it, and if they did it would be innocent enough to pass off as a simple jewel.

He had to slip it from under his vest, a special made vest with only nine in existence. It was a Kevlar vest, borrowed from muggle law enforcement, but the fabric covering it is not other than basilick hide. It had been fortunate nobody had picked the body from the chamber of secrets before them. He gripped the small medallion and sent a very small burst of magic to it, hoping it wouldn't destabilise what was left of wards around him. To his usual luck, apart from some creaking, he was left in his small little hole without too much problems. The resistance's leader now could only wait for his signal to be intercepted and he would be out of there to continue his search.

Sighing softly, he let his head rest on the dusty floor under his, the cool touch easing the soreness of his head. It shouldn't have hurt that much, he probably banged his head harder than he thought. As he laid there, the dust covered young man reviewed the possible shelters from what he had seen of the castle so far. It wasn't much, there were suitable places, but most were too small. They were nine, not one or two, plus, most of them were mated with another and he expected children would be born in a near future. Slowly, as time passed exhaustion took over, and he started to feel fuzzy, laying flat on a surface even as hard as it was made him sleepy.

Soon though, he heard steps coming his way. He tried raising his head as much as he could without throwing his precarious equilibrium out of balance. Not that it was a large hole he was sprawled on, but he didn't like the sound of the floor around him, thus rendering it impossible for him to move too much without falling through, which would be bad. Fortunately for him, it wasn't the petite Gabrielle who arrived first. He wasn't sure she was strong enough to pull him away from the hole he was laying on (when not in a murderous mood that is). To his relief, it was a rather large and muscular young man, Forest.

''Need help sir?'' the brown haired man asked.

''It would be appreciated.'' was the slightly muffled reply.

Neville had started edging his way towards his leader, his captain and commander, unsure of the ground he stood on. Caution was what was needed this time around. They wouldn't want a repeat of the Eastgate Bridge, which had been dreadful. He had had enough broken bones then to not want to repeat a similar experience.

''Beta Forest, do you happen to have rope on you?'' The leader asked matter-of-factly.

''Unfortunately no Sir.'' the hardened soldier replied. ''Though I might have something else that may be of help.''

The earth loving man crouched to the ground, a hand sliding the backpack off of him. No sooner than the small leather sack was on the ground that he plunged his whole arm in it, obviously searching for whatever it was that would help. Soon, his hand came out of the bag, holding what seemed to be a broom pole. But as he pulled it out of the pack, it looked to be never ending. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the wooden pole was out of the bag.

''Forest, tell me, why do you have a twenty feet pole in your pack?''

''I thought it could be useful, sir.'' The other man replied, shrugging. ''It seems I was right.''

A simple roll of his emerald eyes was the answer the brown haired man got. Extending his arm as much as he could without going through the floor, the black haired man gave his friend a pointed look. His second in command gripped one end on the stick with both hands, an even foot between his hands. This way, he didn't have to endanger himself in coming closer than necessary. Neville made a quick job of handing the stick to his commander. One handed, the black haired young man simply gripped the stick that was coming closer and closer from his face, well, if you could call the inch thick pole poking him a stick. Slowly, using his more formidable weight, the plant lover tugged his friend from a sticky situation.

The floor creaked, groaning as he moved, and suddenly part of it collapsed; making the green eyed immortal dangle from the side of the hole. It was lucky he had such a stubborn grip on the stick; it was after all his lifeline for the time being. Neville made a fast retreat, dragging the thunderbird animagus with him. Once they were on safe ground, the leader got to his feet, trying to dust his clothes as much as he could.

''We will have to straighten the wards and recreate most of the outer layers. We will add our own as well, can't let a chance like that get away.'' He said with a nasty grin.

''I have no doubt Athena, Moonlight and the Flames will have fun setting them up.'' The werewolf said in return, an equally dark smile on his face.

When they would talk to their 'warders' about it, they would certainly see the dark ideas going through their heads. Personally, he was glad that they were on the same side, when paired together; it was indeed a scary sight. Both shuddered slightly at the thought, they would never know where that entire sadistic streak had come from. They very well could remember an instance or two where they had been at the end of the youngest Weasley's hexes. Shaking off the unpleasant feeling, they walked away from the hallway they had been in, choosing to follow another, smaller, one. The walls gradually feel close above them, creating a vaguely triangular cave like hall. In a time not so long ago, it had been a hallway with many classrooms, but now most were closed off as they could see from the very light shimmer of certain parts of the walls. It indicated there had been a door there.

There weren't any torches lit, but Thanatos relied on his second in command to alert him if he saw anything suspicious or interesting. After a while of walking, they arrived at a dead end, a small round room with no windows or obvious doors. Looking around, he let his werewolf friend check the area for threats, a simple head nod being his command. Going over everything, the werewolf came back to stand next to his commander and alpha, if a bit behind him.

''I could sense small air disturbances, there must be some doors hidden here that we can't detect.'' He reported.

''I will check for cloaked magic. In the mean time, I would like you to go and gather Moonlight and Athena and bring them back here with torches. I thrust you won't get lost?'' He addressed Forest, who simply nodded before returning the way he had come.

Slowly, eyes closed, he walked around the small circular room, trailing a hand along the wall, searching for inconsistencies in the rock telling him of a possible secret passage. He let his magical sense scan the wall below his fingers, soon finding a part of the wall where his magic echoed strangely. It was shaped like a diminutive archway, if he would have to cross it, the majority of the boys would have to bow their head to evade having a bruise on their forehead. Since warding wasn't his specialisation, he would have to wait for Luna to arrive and take it up from where he had left. Producing a bit of chalk from one of his coat's many pockets; it always could be useful as that day was a proof. He traced the outline in a bright white color before repeating the process of search an entrance just in case he had missed something.

The 'door' was situated, strangely enough, right next to the entrance. He would never have guessed it to be there if he hadn't done a throughout investigation. Perhaps this place would be perfect; it indeed had several points in its favour. The door was well hidden, nobody would think to hide it next to the entrance and most would go directly in front of them to search for a door. If there weren't rooms behind it, they could very well make them themselves. Sighing softly, he waited for his team to arrive. It would still take them a few more moments and there was only so much he could do alone. He didn't have to wait too long as footsteps echoed towards him from the passageway.

He could recognise them instantly; they had learned each other's identification a while ago to keep from killing each other in battle, very useful skill. There was the soft glide like predatory stepping of Neville's, Hermione's regular pattern like determined footsteps and Luna's bouncy hop like walk. Of course, it wasn't the only thing, but it was the easiest to identify. Always the cautious one, he waited to make sure they were indeed who he thought they were before stepping out of the shadows. Of course, Neville wasn't surprised as any of the others would have been.

''Moonlight, Athena, I want both of you working on the door I outlined. To be hidden that way must mean there is something behind it of some sort of importance.'' He explained to his two female companions swiftly.

The two nodded in reply before going to poke and tickle the hidden archway. _It will take a while…_ The black haired man thought, preparing for the wait.

Author's notes:

Please tell me what you think of this story, feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated. Flames will be used to roast Voldie's inbred behind.


	2. Warding and some survivors

Title: Darkened Halls.

Chapter Two: **Warding and some survivors.**

Thanatos had waited for a while, watching the two women working on the enchantments of the doorway. The pendant around his neck vibrated against his skin for a few seconds, the magic of it giving him the information that the flames had finished their jobs. Sighing, he turned, signalling for Neville to stay there and protect the two girls. Had they not been so occupied with breaking the wards on the doorway the women would have protested that they needed no protection. But both men were not so easily convinced.

It's not like they could do anything to stop him. He wasn't their commander for nothing after all. The black haired man walked stealthily through the destroyed halls of Hogwarts, it was utterly deserted. It was a shame though because what was left of the structure was relatively sound and could house several people in relative safety. They would certainly have to thread carefully around until the new wards were up. That meant that he still could go through the floor like he had done before. That had been rather humiliating.

As he stalked through the empty hallways, his eyes watching every small shadow and every hidden corner as if someone would attack him right here and there. He might as well be cautious (read paranoid) it saved his life more times than he cared to count. Old Moody's constant vigilance policy had paid off in them as there were no other warriors that could match them in their skills of survival. Sunlight streamed from the broken ceiling as the young looking commander entered what used to be the great hall. Strolling through the castle had taken more time than he would have wanted, but he finally reached the outer doors.

He pushed the doors, ones that were hanging loosely from the frame as trolls had pushed through them during one of the many attacks. The sight that greeted his eyes was that of a battle field, it reminded him that they would have to do some cleaning work if they wanted their plan to work. The five he had sent out were waiting for him with a few of the survivors. The survivors were few as he could see; they were gathered in front of the warriors. That way, an eye could be kept on the civilians just in case.

Thanatos stood in front of them; arms crossed on his back, no expression covered his face. He looked as intimidating as he could make himself be. The two children didn't look that impressed, they were most likely used to intimidating sergeants and commanders, and they must have been soldiers since a young age, born into the war. He reviewed their condition and turned to look at Hera, a questioning gaze in his green eyes.

"They are all we could find." The blond veela replied to his unasked question.

He nodded and looked over the survivors, three wizards, two werewolves and two unknowns, possibly people of mixed heritage. He waited, seeing the weaker looking female fidget under his calculating gaze. The red haired woman sighed and strode forward between their small ranks. She nodded to him and they looked in each other's eyes. A few seconds passed, they seemed to communicate silently, eye unmoving. She bowed her head and went back into place. One by one, the processed was repeated with all of them, his warriors, not the 'civilians' as he liked to call the less skilled soldiers.

That exchange might have confused most people, but it was not a known fact that they shared a mental link with each other; the information came easier and faster without the same misunderstanding that occurred with speech. He could get a complete report without needing hours to get it explained to him. It was not a complete mind link, if they were too far away, they could not communicate that way. Simple thoughts were exchanged as well as a copy of the memories the other sent. It was an efficient way to tell if someone was not who they were supposed to be in their tight knit group.

"I see." He said simply. "Follow me."

That was an order. He turned around and his clothes twirled in a very Snape like manner and he marched away, but in a graceful deadly manner. No wonder they thought he was some sort of demon or god for that matter. He looked scary when he wanted to. The small party followed, a little reluctantly in some cases. The five soldiers surrounded the civilians; the strange fact was that the children were in the middle of this formation, even if they could probably beat any other civilian senseless. Those two were werewolves after all.

The tall dark haired man led, with a slim woman following. She had dusty brown hair and dark brown eyes coupled to a tanned skin and a short frame. Do not be mistaken though, she was not as innocuous as she looked. She wore a long blue robe with a silver symbol on it; it was a backwards F with a vertical line next to it. She was one of the unknowns, in her case; it was a mix of werewolf and wood elf even if she didn't really look the part. Good illusion spells it seemed. Next was a slightly pompous looking man, tall and very thin. He hid it into a hoodless trench coat. He had grey skin with dark blue hair and silver eyes. The second unknown, the child of a merman and a human woman, yes, this mix was possible. They were named Kaelin of Shingarea and Dorian, the man without a surname.

Then came both children, they were obviously twins, even if one was a girl and the other was a boy. They shared a powerful constitution with little to no fat on their body, a set of yellow eyes, lightly tanned skin and matching mops of grey hair. They were born werewolves, explaining the strange hair color. They wore matching robes of dark green with a stylised wolf howling on the front of their chest. The only difference between them was that the girl had longer hair. They looked around twelve. They were known as the Cheresa twins, Akane and Zytka.

Three people followed the two young werewolves, there was a man around his fifties, he was slightly twitchy and was looking around himself will what will be called paranoia and we will leave it at that. He had spiky salt and pepper hair that stood on ends and a long tattered black and blue robe. He had pale skin and a pair of suspicious blue eyes. He was called Edward McDougal. It was surprising for a simple wizard to have survived so long without as much as a crippling injury, but as luck would have it, Edward did. Then was the woman Thanatos had dubbed as being the weak one, a medic as the red cross across her white robs suggested. She had long black hair with a pair of faded green eyes and dark skin. Her name was Eleanor François.

The last one was a true civilian teenager, one having been there by pure luck or having transferred to Hogwarts for the safety of those old walls. He was a squib, but one who seemed good enough with shooting weapons like a rifle or a bow if he was so inclined. He was around sixteen, a tall lanky kid with medium brown hair and pale grey eyes on a pale freckled skin. His name was David Cross, or more commonly known as 'That squib kid' amongst the others.

And so was their little group. That exchange that had been going on between the leader and each of his warriors had been one held in their minds; a simple temporary mind link rendered that possible. They had showed him their most recent memories. The cold way he had acted about it all was simply an act to give out in front of other people, he could not be doubted. They could not afford to be disobeyed when lives were at stake. So he led them towards the base of one of Hogwarts' towers, where there was a hole and there was enough space to hold them, for now, until more spacious accommodations could be found.

Grime covered the walls of grey stone, wind entering the tower by the hole on its base. The floor was covered in dirt, but in some places, the wooden floor could be seen underneath. Some pebbles were scattered around, and there was enough space to be together in one bunch and not be cold in the night. But it wasn't that big either. It was the first shelter that he had seen. He stood by the entryway and motioned for them to enter. There was some grumbling from the teenager, but a swift glare from the black haired man, aka Thanatos, killed the reply in his mouth.

"This will be your shelter for now; I suggest you do not stray too much from it for the time being." He said.

Without saying anything else, he turned and left the civilians by themselves. He needed not to have those in his hair while he helped secure the castle from future attacks. It didn't mean that Voldemort had been defeated that his followers were all gone. He couldn't afford another attack so soon. But what none of them knew was that when Voldemort had died, he had dragged his followers with him, at least the marked ones. This would lead to a total exclusion from the outside world since their paranoia would not let them believe in their good luck. Who would believe their enemies would all be defeated? Certainly not them.

The warriors that had been with him followed, they had replayed such a scene enough times to know what to do. Ron had imagined several outcomes and that particular one had been one of those. So they had imagined a way of protecting the survivors from surviving death eaters. So, they would do as they had said, protect the people, the mission they had been sworn to complete. Without any of them, they probably wouldn't have won the war. Not that they were arrogant enough to say something like that themselves, but they knew. The wizarding world had not been prepared for anything let alone wars.

Soon, the black clad immortal was at the outskirts of the Hogwarts property, those of his friends spanned around him in a half circle. Without having to be told, they gathered themselves and went out in a loose circle, just outside of where the wards had used to be. Their eyes were glowing with shared power as their hands went up in front of them as if they had been offering something to the onlooker. Words of old rose from the throat of the assembled sorcerers and sorceresses.

The language had not been heard in centuries, not by human ears at least because some of the long lived races used it as an everyday language, it was not a relic to them. Magic started to swirl around their bodies, the color depending on the person. Some colors were flashier than others. Thanathos' was a deep blue color, surprisingly, one would have thought he would have had a spookier color, like black.

The magic spread around, forming a bubble around the whole of Hogwarts, the colors were mixing and swirling in a similar way to soap bubbles, except stronger. They did not want anybody to be able to enter without their permission. They had been forced to become overprotective and shall we say paranoid. The thought never occurred to them that it could be over once and for all. This simple assumption would be the starter to a whole chain of events that would change their world, sort of.

Back to the subject, the warriors were raising wards around the ruins of what had been one of the greatest schools of Europe, Hogwarts. There wasn't much of it left now, but it would have to do. The group didn't really have an idea of what they were going to do with the school, a reserve maybe? At least a safe haven for now. They had the immediate present in mind, nothing else. The chanting rose higher and higher as the magic glowed brighter and the swirls became more complex, actually starting to look like something for once.

It looked like a very complex spider web, except the glow extended between each strand. Once the wards would be finished, they would work into four different layers, each close to the other. The outmost layer was a trick ward, it served the purpose of hiding the other wards, although it is just as powerful as the other layers, it appears not to be. It has many curses interlined with several less known 'prank' spells. All coupled together it created quite the masterpiece of crippling magic. If someone managed to get to the second layer, they were in for a nasty surprise.

It was an anti-portkey, anti-apparition, and anti-transportation with immobilising wards, you got stuck, and then killed in a slow painful way. It left enough time to rescue the person if it was an unfortunate ally. It sent an alert to the inhabitants of the castle and it gave everyone time to hide if need be. The next layer was a shielding ward; it kept anything magical from entering, like spells, curses, non-friendly jerks... Well you get the idea. The innermost layer was an even nastier shielding ward with household wards, like preservation charms, cleaning charms and the like.

Of course, all the layers were not made out of one single ward; it was made of a lot of wards meshed together. Very complex indeed. They overlapped in some places and well, if you mixed household charms with the nastier tricks, the effects would be interesting to say the least. Anyways, the wards flared brightly and soon disappeared although the magic could be felt still. The men and women lowered their hands and regained their breath.

"Let's get some rest." He called to them.

They nodded back to him and they walked towards the castle, stopping near where the civilians, outside of their small shelter. Protector untied the pouch on his belt, ramming his whole arm in it, searching for some useful supplies. When the red head pulled his arm out, he had a whole package of branches with him.

"You have firewood in your pack? " Asked his sister.

"Yes, I figured it could come in handy. " Was the reply with a shrug.

"Forest told me something of that effect when he took a twenty feet pole out of his pack to help me out of a sticky situation." The black haired man said.

A round of chuckles came from the assembled soldiers before the mood darkened again. Protector put the wood in a scorch hole or spell crater on the ground before Feathers just snapped her fingers and the pile of wood was aflame. Being a veela came with some quirks after all. They huddled closer to the fire, the warmth coming to their chilled skins. They were aware of their surroundings though, but they were tired. Tired of their day, drained of magic, just plain exhausted.

Now that they were alone, they could let their veteran warrior facades down, it was nice to be able to just let things go even for only a few minutes. They didn't need to appear like untouchable warriors that nothing could shake. Their expression at that moment was nothing short of battle weary, if not world weary. They could have just lay down and slept for a lifetime or two if they hadn't been as paranoid as they were. Sleep rarely came, and when it came, it was fitful and restless as memories of lost ones came to haunt them.

"What are we going to do now, we effectively locked ourselves in." Said one of the twins.

Nobody could be quite sure who was who except when they answered to their respective names or wore different clothing.

"Survive, like we always do." Was the green eyed man's answer.

Author's note:

Thanks to Waiting for reviving my interest in this story even with the utter lack of interest it seems to gather. Sorry that it takes so long, but my inspiration does not come when called.


	3. A New Dawn

Title : **Darkened Halls.**

(Summary, warnings and disclaimer in the first two chapters.)

A/N: _Those are thoughts._

Chapter Three: **A new dawn. **

They were gathered around the same fire except now most of the warriors were sleeping while others were standing guard over their unaware companions. They had changed places a few times during the night so everyone got some sleep. At the time, Thanatos was in front of the dying fire, the cooling ambers giving off a warm glow still. Dawn was just starting to rise; some light seeping through the blackness of the night.

A mental probe was sent his way and he relaxed slightly, the footsteps he had heard coming his way were not hostile, far from it, it was Forest. There were two other people with him so, since he hadn't received any bad feeling from either of them, they were with him. It was Athena and Moonlight as he learned just a few seconds after Forest's signal, having sent one of their own. It seems they had worked all night on the wards that protected the mysterious door.

He only sent a backwards glance to them, acknowledging them and thus proving he had received the message. It proved who he was as well. Those were simple things they had placed and used to identify friend from foe in their small group. Just in case someone was trying to impersonate one of them. Soon the bulky werewolf was next to his leader, looking around the scenery. It looked suspiciously like he was protecting him.

''Forest.'' The black haired man acknowledged his standing friend.

''Sir.'' Was the polite reply.

The familiarity that had been used in their Hogwarts years was not present in their voices, since they had trained as being part of an army and not as friends, Thanatos was the leader and thus he needed to be addressed with respect. They didn't use the regular titles as they were all pretty much used to Neville using something else. To the werewolf, the title sergeant or captain didn't mean much, but alpha, beta and everything else made sense, so that was what they used.

Anyways, trudging behind the werewolf were two exhausted looking women. The plopped on the ground near them and immediately rolled their cloaks around themselves and falling asleep quickly. One of the other cloaked bundles moved with a small groan echoing from it and soon a red haired head was poking out of the entangled fabric. Ron was effectively half awake now; he wasn't a morning person and had never been, although they had conditioned themselves to be awake at such and ungodly hour.

By his side lay a smaller form, one snuggled against him. A hand that could have passed as frail looking poked out of the deep blue cloak and uncovered a beautiful face. She was younger than all the others, but wasn't any less deadly. Silvery blue eyes opened to the world as they passed through the hopelessly tangled white blond hair. It was a trait that she did not like from her human heritage. When she slept, they always became full of knots.

The red head next to her pushed himself in a sitting position, yawning and snuggling more into his cloak. Hearing his mate waking next to him, he turned in time to see her stretch in a manner reminiscent of their feline friends. He chuckled in his deep voice and she turned to give him a mock glare.

''Instead of laughing at me, help me get my hair straight.'' She told him with a half playful scrowl.

Needless to say, he obliged. Thanatos was observing the proceedings with amusement, when they were alone, their behaviour was much different. The air wasn't tense, but Forest never dropped the respect he gave him, which at first had been disturbing. But you got used to it. Thanatos had even fought Forest once because his wolf was contesting his status as the leader. Thanatos had won and since then they didn't have any trouble on that part from him. But he would not drop the title or the sir.

Well, the wolf and him had since then merged completely, and thus, they were the same person. It was expected that he would retain some of the wolf in human form and some of the human in wolf form, mostly behaviour, not visible physical traits. So, now he wasn't really considered as a werewolf in a normal sense anymore. Suddenly, Forest stiffened where he stood, Head titled to the side, obviously listening to something.

A few seconds later, they all heard it too. A telepathic thought was exchanged and sent to those who were sleeping, except for the two who had just fallen asleep. They moved slowly, discreetly placing the sleeping warriors in their protective circle without obviously doing so. It would still take a few minutes for the intruders to arrive at their position. Meanwhile, Ginny and the twins awoke and copied the others' movement.

So, when the intruder came in sight, they were ready. They were relieved to see none other than Fawkes come into view. The phoenix looked a little worse for wear, there was some blood on him, but it didn't seem to hinder him too much.

''Hey boy.'' Greeted the black haired man as the bird landed on his outstretched arm. ''Dumbledore is dead then?''

The gold and red bird just gave a soft and sad cry. The man ran a hand through his plumage, soothing the phoenix.

''We miss him too.'' The youngest of the Weasleys said petting his feathers softly.

They were not vastly hungry for now, except perhaps Protector, he was always hungry, no matter the time, so they could now take the time to interact with the phoenix if they so wished. Although Fawkes was not an enemy, they did not leave their places, just in case someone else came. Might as well be cautious.

''Forest, was there something edible you found?'' The black haired man asked.

''Unfortunately no.'' Was the reply. ''Plenty of other things, but nothing any of us can eat, you know how it was deserted after all.''

The red and gold bird let out a small joyful thrill; he knew where to find food. It was the least he could do for the ones he considered as his hatchlings. They had suffered enough. He had always held a soft spot for them, especially the black haired young one. Since none of them understood the phoenix language, they gave him quizzical looks at first. When they did, they left their commander to go with the immortal bird as they had other things to attend to.

The black haired man shrugged and followed the mythical bird, not really knowing where he would lead him. The bird flew ahead of him as he had to take on a full run to be able to keep up, which was rather fast if you asked anyone normal. Well, when you had a lot of different creature bloodlines flowing through your veins, it was bound to have an effect. The red and gold bird continued over the forest as Thanatos sped up to keep up while weaving through the trees.

Some were burned from stray spells and some had been broken down forcefully when the giants had passed through. Most were still standing, if not a little worse for wear. Many animals had fled, but most had nowhere to go. As he passed, the man could clearly see the destruction both armies had created in their pointless war. The place was as gloomy as ever, but he could already see some new grass poking through the blanket of ashes. The amount indicated that battles had been played there, the death eaters certainly hadn't expected to be ambushed in the forbidden forest.

Finally after some travelling through what was known as the forbidden forest, or what was left of it anyway, they were in a clearing. The phoenix had landed in the center of it, claws digging in the body of a small brownish grey creature. It had small arms and legs attached to a large body. It had big tennis ball sized eyes and a tiny pair of horns next to large floppy ears. There was some exoskeleton protecting its neck. Overall, it looked like a cross of a bunny and a potato.

The weird bunny/potato thing continued to squirm in between Fawkes' claws while the bird seemed to smile smugly, it that was even possible. The warrior simply raised an eyebrow. He walked over to the phoenix and looked down at the slightly larger than a cat creature. By the looks of it, it seemed to be a cub of whatever specie that was. He picked the creature by the scruff of the neck and held it at eye level.

He could see short grey/brown fur covering it and the large eyes were a fierce yellow. The smallish creature barked some insults before showing two rows of sharp teeth. He could not resist and bared his own teeth back in a silent snarl. His teeth could turn sharp when he wanted them to, as his nails did. He was wearing a slightly scary expression, an evil smirk. The creature then knew it was doomed. The large wail of the word Fuck then resounded from the small mouth.

For such a small thing, it sure had lungs. Fawkes had seemed to hate the creature, and well, he could understand why. It insulted his sense of decorum. That creature was a little known inhabitant of the magical forests, the forest gnomes, distantly related to the garden gnomes of wizarding homes. Wizards usually just didn't bother with them. All it could do was insult anything coming into hearing range and eat grass, as odd as that sounded.

Hence the sharp teeth. They were not really intelligent, thus being eatable with a flesh that oddly tasted like a mix of chicken and cheese. They were weird creatures indeed. The forest gnomes lived in packs because many predators like to feast on their flesh. The only major threat they could be was that the older they got, the larger they were, even getting as large as a troll. Their food supply problem was solved.

''Thank you Fawkes, I shall bring it back to camp to see what we can get out of it.'' He said petting the bird's feathers a bit before turning and walking back towards the castle.

By that time, at the camp most had woken up, except for the two researchers of their group and a few of the civilians. Forest was sitting in front of the revived fire, one of the twin werewolves on each side of him. They were pestering him with questions.

''When did you become a werewolf?'' One asked.

''How old are you?'' The other continued.

''What's it like being a bitten werewolf?''

They had been at it for about an hour and forest had at first indulged in their curiosity, but now refused to answer because he was loosing patience and feared he would do something to them if he opened his mouth again. If he hadn't had as much self control as he did, he would have dunked them both over the head or some other nefarious action. They were seriously getting on his nerves, but then again maybe a confrontation was what they wanted.

He knew they wanted to know how they stood next to him. But he would not indulge in that yet. He had no real right to do so, after all, he himself was not an alpha. You see, each of them had a measure of every blood they had tested themselves on, their leader more than any other because he had experimented on himself first, he even had dementor blood flowing through his veins although nobody knew where he had come across it.

The predominance of each creature blood in the different warriors depended on their reaction to the person magic, and in his case and Thanatos' the werewolf blood was significantly predominant, although in the black haired leader, vampire blood came a close second. In Feathers veela blood was because she had been a veela longer than she had had the other bloods and so long and so forth. All in all, they each had more or less characteristics from each blood they had been given.

Thanatos had the formidable speed and strength of the werewolves as well as their keen senses and could see in the dark. When he was particularly angry, he would exude cold and sap the people's happiness if anyone was around. Hera, Loki and Pyro were quite similar; they were literally obsessed with fire, could breath it and were extremely strong as well as thick skinned. They were extremely destructive as well; they had gotten that from dragon blood.

None of them were quite sure where Moonlight's traits came from, but she could manipulate the weather around her and had some seer powers. Protector could heal with a simple touch and when he felt like it, none could catch so fast he was. They were pretty sure he could freeze anything on touch as well. Forest himself was a werewolf through and through, although he could communicate with most plant life and make them grow at his will.

Gabrielle was a veela, not much to say about it, except she could hypnotise nearly everything that was a living breathing creature. Hermione might have been the strangest of them all, her brain worked lightning fast and she was the most intelligent of all the nine. It was coupled with an insane strength (she could shatter rock with a finger) and had a 360 degrees heat vision. In their group, Thanatos was the leader, and even if everyone had their say in everything they did, the decision always fell on Thanatos.

To a werewolf, He was the alpha. What the two young werewolves were doing was testing the waters because beneath their childish curiosity lay the desire to be accepted by a pack, which they were in a way. And as Forest was not an alpha, he could not do anything about it because that was Thanatos' role to accept or refuse people in his pack. Although he was not aware of it, Thanatos behaved as the alpha, but since he was not a true werewolf, those instincts were not as strong.

Back to forest, he was looking more aggravated as time passed and he was seriously beginning to loose his nerve. It would have been bad, because he might have been extremely patient, but when angered, he was a force to reckon with.

''ENOUGH!'' He snarled to both, startling them out of their stream of questions and startling all those around as well.

The two reeled back as if struck, eyes immediately lowering to the ground and posture becoming slightly hunched over as a sign of submission. They demeanour exuded the fact that they hadn't really intended to make him mad. They knew they had gone too far. Pestering other people was not a good thing to do, especially if the person was likely to retaliate. And they knew they had been caught.

''Now.'' He said silkily… ''I will tell you what happened, in exchange, you will not utter another word until my alpha arrives, is that understood?''

They nodded mutely in response.

''That day I had been at my dying grand-mother's side…'' He started.

The twin werewolves instantly regretted asking because they could hear the pain in his voice, but now that Forest was started he would not stop. He had never talked about it before, but he had made his resolve. The others around them feigned not to be listening as he started to talk. He needed to let it out, now was as good a time as any. He had never been the same since that faithful night, and he had never even told his closest friends so those around were listening intently.

FLASHBACK

It was night, so long ago that most had forgotten about it. Most except for those it had been about. There was a small house in the distance nestled in a group of trees. Warm light seeped from the windows, showing the inside as being cozy. Everything was slightly worn out, a proof that this place was well loved and well used. There were only a few lights on in the house, light filtering to the outside in large beams. It gave off a friendly vibe and a cozy feeling.

A window was lit on the second floor, if you were to look in, you would have seen a sad scene. There was an old woman lying on a bed in the room, her white hair was fanned around her head on the pillow. Her face was wrinkled by old age, but you could see she had been a beautiful woman in her younger years. This woman had once instilled fear into the only family she had left, Neville Longbottom, the young man seated on a chair next to her bed.

He didn't look much like she had done when she was younger, but there were other things that linked them together. They had the same fiery spirit; it just had taken more time for the shy slightly rotund Neville to find it in himself. But now, he was far from being a shy young man, he was a powerful wizard with great skills in crowd charming unlike his friend Harry who couldn't talk to journalists to save himself. The public speeches had therefore been left to him.

Now, he had been called back from some undisclosed location while doing a secret mission because he had been told his grand-mother was dying. Indeed it was true; the feared Augusta Longbottom was slowly dying from age. He could not have been more distressed, because his grand-mother was the last family he had, his parents having passed away a long time ago into insanity. Thus, he had joined his last family member in their cottage for her last days of existence.

The young man let his hand wander through her silky white hair, a sad expression on his face. He was already weeping for the only family he had, although she was still alive, there was nothing he could do. The old woman's glazed eyes opened and looked at Neville.

''Frank?'' Her quivering voice asked.

A stab of pain went through his heart, she didn't recognise him, she thought he was her son, although he would have loved for her to think of him as her own son, it brought no comfort to his heart in these circumstances.

''Yes mother?'' He asked, playing along for her sake.

''I want to see the sky one last time…'' She murmured.

''Alright.'' He replied.

He leaned over the frail looking woman and scooped her up in his arms, her weight being nothing more than feather light. It seems she had lost a lot of weight while he was gone. She had declined for years, but he thought he still had a few years with her at least. With the delicate woman in his arms, the young soldier walked out of her room, being careful not to bump his grand-mother too much. He wanted to grant her last wish and if he could do that.

Maybe she would not be too angry that he hadn't been there the last year or so. The old woman would not see the end of the war that had raged for far too long. Climbing down the stairs with the only parental figure he had ever known cradled against his chest, he opened the front door and walked outside. His stride was slow and graceful, the kind of grace you would find in an accomplished predator. Which he already was nevermind that he wasn't that old as to be as experienced.

The sky was clear without a hint of a cloud overhead, the moon hung in the sky in all its fullness, not bothering to hide any of itself. Had they been in a magical area, he would have been worried, but since he was not, werewolves would not be out right? The young man knelt in the slightly moist grass with cautious movements and laid the old woman on the green carpet. He soon had her head cradled in his lap as her slightly unfocused eyes looked up to the starry sky.

''It's beautiful.'' She said in her quivering voice.

''It is.'' The young man replied, agreeing.

He looked down at her, silent tears falling from his eyes. They fell like little dark dots upon her nightshirt. He truly regretted not having been there for her, maybe he could have found something to ease her passing, but he hadn't been there. He pulled the old woman closer to himself, protecting her failing body from the chill of the night. He listened to her soft breathing as it slowed and eventually stopped altogether. When it did, a cry of anguish ripped through his throat.

He rocked his grand-mother's body back and forth as she was pressed against him. Tears from his eyes as his cries of rage echoed around him. That had broken him more than the death of a friend had done. Sniffling, he scooped up the body in his arms delicately, shakily rising to his feet. Without waiting more, he went back towards the house, his eyes blank as he hid his pain behind and iron grip.

He kicked the closed door open without much care and he went back upstairs. He tucked the only family he had in her bed before grief overcame him. Trembling, he went downstairs, searching through the cupboards of the kitchen, a slightly crazed look on his face. He finally took a pot of oil from one of the counters. Without prompting, he took out his wand and duplicated the oil many times. With a grim expression, he opened one of the caskets, pouring oil on the ground.

He walked around the house, the thick liquid splashing down as he went. Finally, he had emptied everything. That death had been the last straw, he had held on the hope that if he finished the war as fast as he could, he would be able to live peacefully with her and that everything would go back like before he had been forced to take an active role in it. Now, he didn't even have that much, he snapped, it was as simple as that.

He went back outside, his footprints leaving oily traces behind him, without another word, one curse was uttered...

''Incendio.'' He cried out softly, pointing his wand at the house.

The flame travelled from his wand and hit the trail he had left, igniting and rapidly catching ablaze. He watched as the fire leaped from window to window, the crackling of wood being heard. Large flames exploded outwards through the windows, sending shards of glass everywhere. He let it fly pass him, one of those shards nicking his cheek. He raised an unfeeling hand to his cheek at the pain he had felt and looking unblinkingly at the blood now covering his fingers.

The sound of the roof caving him seemed to snap him out of his musings and he turned around, ready to march off in the night. He did so in a mechanical daze, the toll of war being seen in his unseeing eyes. He looked up sharply when he heard shuffling through the tall grass and met face to face with a pair of malicious amber eyes. He looked around himself and found that he was surrounded. With a simple glance, he could tell those were werewolves. At the moment, he didn't really care that they had a possibly gentle human counterpart.

With the anguish in his eyes, he only saw an outlet for his anger, his festering emotions and his grief. He gave a feral cry and launched himself at the werewolf in front of him, wand and dagger immediately in their respective hands. He managed to cut through the surprised werewolf's shoulder, crouching low and pushing another werewolf off of his back with inhuman strength, one that only came from an adrenalin rush and years of suppressed emotions.

The wolf landed on its back with a yelp and the sound of a bone snapping. Without turning, he plunged his dagger through the roof of the mouth of a werewolf about to bite through his shoulder. Chaos continued, the werewolves having never encountered someone who willingly fought with them. That was definitely endearing to them. Eventually, out of three, there was only one werewolf left, a young grey thing that obviously wasn't full grown yet. The others lay cooling on the ground before the shaking and panting young man.

With a snarl, the last werewolf launched himself at the still standing man, biting through his forearm while Neville shot an Avada Kedavra to the wolf. He fell to his knees, tears still falling from his ashen face. He shrugged off the slacked jaw of the cursed creature and He pushed himself to his feet. A twig snapped behind him and before he could comprehend what he was doing or who was there, he had launched an attack, his hand being gripped before he could do any damage to the throat waiting there.

It was a very human throat, and that gave him pause. He looked up and his gaze met with a pair of concerned emerald coloured eyes. He knew those eyes.

End flashback

''And that's how I became a werewolf.'' He finished.

All those around had barely hidden expressions of disbelief etched on their faces. They couldn't believe it, the 'used to be so shy he'd be clumsy as hell' Neville Longbottom picking fights with werewolves, well, that was new. The war seemingly had more effect on the werewolf than previously thought.

''It certainly was not what I expected.'' A voice said from behind them.

All of them whirled around and had weapons trained on the person before they could blink. The black haired man dodged the few thrown knives and spells, avoiding certain death. He sent out a rather loud telepathic signal that made the others flinch back from his presence, but at least it got them to stop attacking him. He had sneaked up on them after all; he was one of the only ones that could. Most of the others being dead already, having been killed by the backlash of their surprise.

The two children who had been annoying as of late were surprisingly quiet, head hung low and avoiding the man's eyes as if he had the plague. Seemingly oblivious to that, Thanatos was observing them with a quirked eyebrow. The werewolf twins fidgeted when his gaze roamed over them and the black haired man gave a questioning gaze to Forest. It was strange that the two child soldiers had been admitted in the near vicinity when they were at their most vulnerable.

The plant-loving man caught the look and sent one of his own to the pair of young werewolves. They sprung to their feet the second they locked gaze with the older werewolf and approached with a contrite expression. They thought it best to look as unthreatening as possible. It would do them no good to antagonize their possible leader. Thanatos looked at their forms, judging if they would be useful or not. They had a strong built and would promise to be quite large when they would be adults.

Excluding of course the girl one of the twins since female werewolves tended to be leaner than their male counterparts. Of course, it was not true in bitten werewolves. He tilted his head to the side, green eyes seeking their yellow orbs, so similar to the other's. Fortunately for them, they continued to avoid his eyes.

_Forest, is this situation some wolf protocol or something? _The black clad man sent to the werewolf.

It had not been aloud and thus none of the others in the near surroundings heard it. It was a simple mental message as he circled the nervous looking pups.

_Indeed Alpha._ Forest sent back. _They wish to be included into our pack, their own probably got decimated._

_What do you suggest I do__? I do not have the instincts to deal correctly with all of this._ He replied.

He would not have admitted being in the unknown in front of the two young werewolves, they probably would have challenged him and he didn't want to have to maul them until they gave up. That would just be unpleasant for all parties involved. He couldn't have that; division was not good for one's survival rate.

_Sir, if I may…_Forest thought to him. _I will send you the knowledge needed._

The mental touch of the lighter haired man left before returning to dump a mental truckload of information, the type which werewolves knew instinctively. The two young ones had not caught on yet that the older male had been stalling, so when he spoke, it was not to the surprise of the people present, nor was it in an unsure tone. Mind links were useful things after all.

''Loners, what brings thee upon my lands?'' He asked the children formally.

It was with a sigh of relief that both recognised the formal greeting. Now they knew where they stood with the man standing with a carefully blanked expression on his face, arms crossed in a show of defiance. He probably would not accept that type of attitude from his subordinates, but was not averse to using it himself. It did make him look even more intimidating.

''Alpha.'' The boy intoned respectfully. ''My littermate and I are seeking acceptance in your pack.''

''You are only pups, what could you bring to my pack?'' The black haired man asked them.

''We are not just pups alpha, we are Kyani, the born warriors.'' The young werewolf replied.

Said alpha raised an eyebrow. Kyani pups were scarce, one or two each generation. To have twins of all things would be an asset to any pack. Kyani children were pups that could change in between their forms at will, wolf, werewolf and human as well as everything in between. Useful indeed.

''Even kyani must prove themselves.'' He replied.

He didn't particularly wanted to test the two young werewolves, but it was in the protocol of the wolves to at least make them prove their worth. Without leaving anyone the chance to even twitch, he smoothly switched to a large scaly beast. It looked like a wolf but its eyes were silver and its skin covered in metal like scales. He turned and motioned for the two cubs to follow before darting towards the forest. The twins exchanged a glance and followed suit, changing to two small werewolves in the middle of a stride. Soon, none of the three humans turned animals were in sight.

''Well, that was interesting.'' Protector said. ''Anyone wants coffee?''


End file.
